Never Say Never!
by ElleJMuse
Summary: Continuation of "Gross Anatomy" - Peter & Dani in the elevator. Peter, dating a co-worker? Never say never. First, it's hot.  Megan coming in the story soon. UPDATED - Chapter 2!
1. First, It's Hot

**An extension of Season 2, Episode 9 "Gross Anatomy" Note: spoilers, so go watch the eppy if you haven't already!**

**Title: Never Say Never!**

**Chapter One: _First, It's Hot_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Body of Proof, the characters, etc… Although, it really would be nice to own Peter. But I digress…**

Wow. On the elevator it was the only thing his brain could muster as their lips were still intertwined. Peter's mind began to focus around one thing. At first, Dani had been so surprised it was happening, he could feel her eyes on him as they kissed, but now, the aggressive way her tongue seemingly overtook his, it led him to believe that she wanted a whole lot more. Right. Now. Not that he ever had a doubt in his mind that this was where she wanted it to go. After all, she preferred espresso because 'she liked to _grind'_as she so forwardly remarked back in the break room. He had not been able to keep it out of his mind for two days now. But other than his pure attraction to her toned physique, and her witty know-what-she-wants attitude, he was also intrigued by her obvious inherent skills in deciphering the thought process of an investigation on their last case, showing her potential to do far more than cart a body from point A to point B. This was when she started peaking his interest.

But what had overtaken him in the elevator? Yes, it was probably a combination of her tight, cleavage-bearing dress, long eye lashes painted and bare lips perfectly pouted...it was the first time he had seen her in something outside of her uniform, which was so form fitting, it wasn't bad on the eyes either. Dani amazed him in that she always looked like she just came from a photo shoot, even when on call and carting a dead body at 4am. But this wasn't all. He had really felt a connection with her when she talked about her dad. He didn't know much about the whole situation, but having been in foster home after foster home for awhile himself, he felt a kinship with her, knowing that she had to "toughen up" at an early age like he did.

That in addition to the fact that these days, Megan, his partner, or as he was starting to think- his long-term crush- was so absorbed with work, she barely had made a moment for their flirtatious banter. And she didn't seem to be noticing the hint of playful innuendo in his words anymore, which had been sustaining that unspoken spark between them. Lately, she was just barking orders at him and it had left him feeling more isolated. And here was Dani, who was her confident, bad-ass self -even if it was a bit of a mask- emotionally opening up to Peter, looking like a devilish Audrey Hepburn, and was refreshingly forward about her interest in him. He could get used to this.

Peter now had his back against the elevator wall trying to remember the last time a woman had aggressively backed him into a corner instead of the other way around, but he was enjoying the role reversal. He began to feel a bead of sweat forming on his forehead as the intensity of their kissing increased, and Peter was for once thankful for the slow elevator. Dani's hands were wrapped around the back of his neck pulling him closer to her, while his own hands were wondering about their next move and he remembered…

_First, it's hot._ Peter recalled the words he uttered in the break room as Dani asked him to come up with reasons why they shouldn't date. Now here he was, taking the leap that he had sworn off only a couple days ago, and he thought, well...he sure as hell was going to enjoy it. And he had something right, it definitely was _hot._

The elevator "pinged" as they were now on the lobby level, with the doors soon-to-be-opening. Peter, suddenly aware of his surroundings, stepping forward from the back of the elevator, broke the spontaneity as he gently removed Dani's arms from around his neck with her eyes staring at him puzzled. He wasn't going to be a fool about it. They were after all still officially in the office, even if they were leaving for the day. Unaware the elevators were now opening, and having been completely caught up in the moment, Dani said perplexed..."What are you d...?"

And she was then silenced, realizing the answer to her question as she saw Kate and Ethan, standing on the other side of the now opened elevator. Ethan stopped mid-sentence in their conversation about a missing slide in the evidence of the last case when he caught eyes with the mesmerizing Dani.

**A/N To be continued…My first fanfic, and not much time, so it's short and a little slow-moving. I know, I'm a big METER fan, so don't let this diversion get you down…we'll work into it..next chapter hopefully soon. Reviews -good, bad, and constructive…all welcome!**


	2. The Night Is Young

**Chapter 2: The Night Is Young**

"Ethan, Dr. Murphy" Dani said with a perky tone of recognition, breaking Ethan's continued gaze, her eye brows raised with her usual mischievous delight. She was always one to quickly change the mood reflecting her new audience, without giving a hint that anything had happened.

Meanwhile, Peter was not quite as comfortable, but nodded his head at the two of them in acknowledgement, his eyes darting down, showing a slight awkwardness about him, but his hands were characteristically in his pockets as he walked off the elevator with Dani in close step behind him.

Ethan couldn't place it, but there was something contrived about the moment, and as he and Kate entered the elevator, he saw Dani's black silk wrap on the floor.

"Dani, you dropped this…" he called after her. She turned around, ran back to the elevator and grabbed it.

"Oh, thanks Ethan…see ya!" she casually remarked before quickly running off, but he was too focused on his thoughts to respond. How does someone drop their wrap when it is the only thing they are holding onto in an elevator? His mind jumped…maybe it wasn't the only thing she was holding onto? Ethan had seen how she had been eyeing Peter the last few times he was in the lab. Nah, Peter wouldn't go there, he thought. He's too professional to get involved. And, she's not anything like Megan. Peter and Megan's flirty banter over the past couple months had not escaped Ethan, and while it had never crossed a line enough for him to think there was anything actually going on, he still assumed Peter probably dated women like Megan, not like Dani. I'm sure I'm just paranoid, he thought. After all, his crush on Dani had been so distracting lately, she had caused him to break a few rules under Megan's watch, which was usually unthinkable. Yeah, he decided… he was pretty much crazy about her.

Kate, seemingly unfazed and in her own world, still distracted by the conversation about the slide she and Ethan had been discussing and realizing she had said nothing so far, called after them,

"Get some sleep now that this one is over. Have a good weekend, " she said as the elevator doors were closing.

Peter waved in reply, and Dani, now catching up to Peter, said under her breath, "Oh, we will...don't you worry. But I don't know about the 'sleep' part…" which was just loud enough for Peter to hear and he smiled smugly as they walked in stride. She was good at making him blush. As they were now entering the parking garage, Dani spoke up…

"So, you comin' with me to the party, or what?"

Peter was just now remembering her telling him where she was off to before their lips had locked earlier.

She continued, "It should be pretty cool…my friends might be a little crazy compared to your type, but I think we'll have some fun. If the elevator is any indicator, I know we will…" She bit her lip and smiled.

Damn, she was hot, he thought. He had plans with his friend Tony, one of his old cop pals that he tended to catch a game at a sports bar with now and then. But surely, he would understand. And hell, who cares if he didn't? He wasn't going to pass this up tonight, even if he was still wondering exactly what she meant by his "type", and her friends.

"Sure…" he smiled, "Give me a minute…I just need to make a phone call. I'll drive…my car is over there," he motioned towards his car.

"Uh, I don't think so. Dude, where we are going, you'll want me to drive my car, trust me"…as she pointed to her car, an early 1990's model, light blue Grand Marquis.

Peter chuckled. It was a combination of her calling him "dude" again…she was definitely younger, for sure-and the fact that her car was a boat and looked like one his dad would drive. He was surprised it was still running at its age.

"You laughing at my car?" she said through her flirtatious smile walking toward it with keys in hand."This baby has been with me for years. It was my mom's old car. My cousin rebuilt the engine and it runs like a champ. The pick-up is a little slow for my taste, but at least I don't have to worry about vandalism."

"Now I'm wondering what you mean… where exactly is this party? It is obviously a questionable enough neighborhood that you don't think I should drive my own car," he said, with a chuckle…half joking, but half serious.

He wasn't a control-freak, but he was used to driving when he was with women. He liked taking the lead. With three sisters, he had no problem letting a woman take the reins on occasion, but from her description of a party with a few crazy friends at a house in a shady neighborhood, well, this didn't sound like a situation in which he wanted to give up control.

"Oh, it's not that bad. It's just one of those up-and-coming neighborhoods in transition over in Eastland, you know, with remodeled houses on one block and run-down houses on another. We just have to park on the street, so it's better we take a car we don't care as much about just in case. Besides, I like driving!" she said with a sly smile, as she confidently opened her car door to get in.

As he stood there for a minute, not having confirmed a decision, with her already in the driver's seat, he could tell she wasn't used to taking "no" for an answer. But he also knew Eastland and decided she was probably right. He walked around to the passenger side while calling his friend Tony and motioning to her it would be a minute before he got in. She nodded and cranked the radio. This was going to be an interesting night, he thought, waiting for Tony to pick up. He ended up leaving a message, and they were on their way.

It was early, and the two decided to grab a quick bite to eat before heading to the party. After some fun back and forth banter in the car talking about music, Peter was again realizing the generation gap between them and finding it amusing. Dani's driving was a bit fast and furious and she reminded Peter of the type of driver he would stop when he first joined the police force, handing out traffic tickets years ago. But they were never this hot, he thought. Of course he liked the edge to her, but it made him a bit nervous not being the one doing the driving. They ended up at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place that was a favorite of Dani's. It was in the heart of Corner's Alley, which was situated around four corners, hence the name, that came together on a not-so-great side of downtown Philly. She parallel parked the widest car on the street, with the perfection of a DMV test administrator, showing that she was truly a city-girl.

"I wouldn't usually come here by myself, but the food is amazing, and I'm with a cop this time, right?…" she winked at him as she put the car in park.

"Well, medical investigator actually…I gave up the cop role," he corrected her, knowing what she meant.

"You still have a badge. I think it's really sexy," she said as she leaned over, tugging at his leather jacket ever so slightly and putting her lips on his for a quick, but intense kiss. While Dani was a bit forward, she was definitely turning Peter on. No matter how much Megan had given him a hard time about it, there was still something about his badge that attracted women. And he wasn't apologetic about that…it was working to his benefit right about now.

"Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving!" she said playfully, pulling away in a bit of a tease. As they got out of the car, Dani realized she was looking forward to actually getting to know Peter a little better while they ate. She really knew so little about him. He was "all business all the time" at work and the most personal discussion she had ever had with him was in the break room the other day which was more of a tongue-in-cheek conversation. It hadn't revealed much about him, except that as of now, she had discovered she could break him of his own rules. The thought made her smile…what else could she break him of? This night was going to be fun!

**A/N: Peter revealed in the next chapter (well, at least more than we know now!) Megan will also enter in the next chapter. It could get interesting. Ah! I gotta keep writing chapters before the next show airs! More soon.**


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